Tom Smith stepped out of the shadows of Lancashire's more recognised seam bowlers to inspire an improbable win last night. Yorkshire must have fancied their chances of overhauling a modest total against a Lightning attack missing the injured Dominic Cork, Glen Chapple and Sajid Mahmood plus England's James Anderson. But Smith, a 21-year-old from Chorley who spent the winter with the England Academy after an impressive debut season, ripped the heart out of their batting with a spell of three for eight.

His first ball plucked out Tim Bresnan's middle stump and in his third over he had Andrew Gale lbw and Chris Gilbert caught behind. With Gary Keedy keeping up the pressure from the Stretford End on a slow pitch that suited him perfectly, Yorkshire fell hopelessly behind the rate to the noisy delight of a 15,215 crowd basking in the unexpected evening sunshine - and after failing to win any of their first three matches Darren Gough's team have no room for manoeuvre in their remaining five if they are to have any chance of making the semi-finals.

Lancashire's innings had started badly when Sanath Jayasuriya top-edged Gough's second ball to Bresnan at long leg - a third consecutive Twenty20 failure for the original pinch-hitting opener. But Mal Loye and Brad Hodge put them on course for a far more substantial total than they eventually managed with a second-wicket stand of 65 in eight overs, Loye slogging Gough's fourth delivery over the short square-leg boundary for six to set the tone for a typically robust 38 off 26 balls.

Loye, however, became the victim of an astonishing catch by Gilbert, who lost a fierce straight drive in the sun but still had the instinct to put his hands in the right place as his head ducked for cover, and thereafter wickets tumbled.

Jason Gillespie claimed the key scalp of Hodge, bowled by a classic inswinging yorker for 57 from 49 balls, to trigger a scatterbrained collapse from 116 for three against some mature support bowling from Richard Pyrah and the rookie left-arm spinner David Wainwright. Gillespie had Gareth Cross lbw later in the same over, Kyle Hogg was run out without facing a ball by another excellent piece of boundary work from Gilbert, and Smith was also left stranded after a mix-up with his captain Mark Chilton.

But Yorkshire's reply never really got going, with Craig White chipping Hogg to mid-off in the second over and Gerard Brophy lofting the same bowler to deep square leg before Smith's killer spell.